Prescot Market Place Redesign: Voting Opens 3 August

Members of the public will be asked their views on potential designs for a reimagined Market Place in Prescot.

Five potential designs will be put to the vote from Thursday 3 to Tuesday 8 August. Forty-five architects from across the globe entered the competition, launched in May, and a shortlist of five was announced in June.

The historic site (pictured as it currently stands, unused) adjoins the Prescot War Memorial – the oldest of its kind in the UK – and the 17th-century parish church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Knowsley’s only Grade I listed building.

View Designs in Prescot Town Centre

The five shortlisted designs will be displayed in the windows of the former Grace Lea shop at the entrance to Prescot Shopping Centre on Eccleston Street between Thursday 3 August and Tuesday 8 August 2017.

Open Day 5 August

On Saturday 5 August 2017, the shop will be open to the public between 10am and 2pm to view the designs and to speak with members of the Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) team.

You can submit your vote for your favourite design online from Thursday 3 August 2017 or at the drop-in session on Saturday 5 August 2017. You can view the designs here.

Cllr Graham Morgan, Knowsley’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development said: “The high quality designs that have been submitted for Market Place are fantastic and I would encourage residents and business owners in Prescot to have their say on the final design.

“The redesign of Market Place will create a vibrant special space in the heart of the town centre which will complement other amazing developments including the new Shakespeare North Playhouse and the multiplex cinema, making Prescot even more attractive to visitors, residents and businesses.”

The 42 entries to the competition which has been overseen by the Royal Institute for British Architects (RIBA) on behalf of the THI and the following designs were shortlisted:

Blackstaff Architects, Belfast

Charles Tashima Architecture, London

Mark Wray Architects, Bath

OMI Architects, Manchester

Periscope Studio, London

The redesign of Market Place is the single biggest project of the Prescot THI and will have a considerable impact on the look, feel and function of Prescot Town Centre.

Over the past four years the ambitious initiative has invested £1.6million in the conservation and celebration of Prescot’s historic buildings, spaces and the town’s past and has levered in over £400,000 of private investment. To date, ten buildings in Prescot town centre have been, or are being, repaired and restored to their former glory.

The final design winner will be announced in August 2017 and work is expected to start in early 2018 with completion scheduled for early Summer 2018. Prescot THI is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), Knowsley Council and other local partners.